170 MARINE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



Cod and the southern limit at Florida, However, not all the states within 

 these limits market scallops. Commercial quantities of bay scallop are 

 gathered in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, 

 North Carolina, and Florida. 



Since 1930 the production of scallops has been small and in many areas, 

 including North Carolina, the industry has become virtually non-existent. 

 There appears to be a definite correlation between the disappearance of 

 eelgrass {Zoster a) from the coastal regions and decline in production of 

 scallops during this period. Table 6 contains the production figures for the 

 Atlantic coast during the years 1929, 1937 and 1940. Production has declined 

 in all states, except Florida and Rhode Island. 



TABLE 6 

 Production of Bay Scallops 



* Weights of scallops refer to edible portions, exclusive of shells. 



NATURAL HISTORY 



The early development of the bay scallop is essentially the same as the 

 other bivalves discussed herein, the oyster and clam. Since both sex products 

 are present in a single individual, it is a hermaphroditic form. The ovaries 

 and testes are located in separate places and self-fertilization is believed to 

 occur seldom. In the process of spawning the scallop usually discharges one 

 kind of sex cells at a time, although Belding (1910) reports a few instances 

 when a mixture of both eggs and sperm were observed on the first discharge. 

 Spawning occurs under natural conditions when the water temperature rises 

 to 61.5° F. in June (Belding, 1910). However, Outsell (1931) found spawn- 

 ing to occur in North Carolina when the water temperature was declining in 

 the autumn, and to continue until January. Both authors report that spawn- 

 ing generally continues over an extended period rather than a complete dis- 

 charge of the sex products within a brief time. Although self-fertilization is 



